Catastrophic Lower Unit Collision

[Traveler2586]

If you fish the tidal Potomac River you need to read paragraph one.

 

On July 10, 2013 while cruising south on the Maryland side of the Potomac River just south of Greenway Flats my boat struck a submerged object.  I believe I hit a shoal incorrectly shown on Navionics Navplanner 2 map at 38 deg 40.0978’N by 77 deg 7.3304’W and listed as “Shoal to 3 FT Rep 1975”.  I believe I have found the actual location on Google Earth imagery dated 11/22/02 at 38 deg 40.233’N by 77 deg 7.176’W; you can actually see the shoal in the imagery.

 

 I quickly stopped the engine and raised the lower unit to check the prop. I found the prop was badly banged up, and then noticed small black balls of oil rising up from under the gear housing. I became amazed at how the balls broke up into many smaller balls as they raised to the surface where they broke into a very thin sheen that dissipated quickly. Isn’t technology wounderful!! Years ago I would have an oil trail a half mile long.

 

Seeing this damage I decided to head into shore where I could get to the back of the boat for a better inspection.  I made it to a location where I soft grounded the boat on clean sand in crystal clear water about knee deep.  After removing my boots I disembarked and made my way back to the engine where I found my skeg and the underside of the gear housing was missing and I could see the internal parts of the gear housing.

 

At this point I knew I needed help to return to the ramp so using the BoatUS iphone app I contacted them for a tow. The phone app gave BoatUS my member information and current location and they quickly conferenced me with a tow boat captain who would come to my aid; during my conversation with the towboat captain I told him I was currently soft grounded and safe, he told me I needed to get to deeper water so he could hook me up and wouldn’t have to charge me for a un-grounding.

 

So as I made my way to deeper water, fighting a headwind, I decided to put the TM on high speed to make better headway; a few seconds later I hear a knock from the TM and I go dead in the water.  When I pulled the TM I found I could not rotate the prop.  This has happened to me years before when I had a Johnson TM; it had rubber magnets on the inside wall of the motor housing and one had broken loose which jammed the armature.

 

Since I had made it to deeper water ( about ten feet ) and could no longer fight the wind I quickly anchored to hold my position.  With nothing else to do I went back to fishing. J  I must say that I am personally proud of how calmly I took these events, I never had an urge to through a tantrum, through anything overboard, or cuss like a sailor; **** happens, I deal with it and move on, period.

 

About forty-five minutes later I see the tow boat heading in my direction.  Once the captain reached me he had to circle me several times due to the wind so he could come along side and pass me the tow line.  Once I was hooked up we were on course back to the ramp, which at 5 to 6 mph took about two hours to cover the 11.8 miles.  When we reached the ramp the captain made sure I was safely tied up at the dock before he departed.

 

Thanks to my BoatUS unlimited towing insurance all I needed to do was sign my name on his ipad. J  This was my first experience using BoatUS towing and I can’t be more pleased with the quality and speed of service; the young lady I first made contact with was very reassuring and professional in every respect; and the same is also true of the towboat captain.  As a result of this experience I will never be without my BoatUS Unlimited towing policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[slonezp]

Sorry to hear that and glad you're ok. Do you have BoatUS as your regular insurance carrier as well? Are they going to take care of the claim?

[Fishing Rhino]

Ouch!  That's some serious damage.  That will certainly go beyond the deductible to get it repaired.

 

Glad you came through it unscathed, and kept a cool head. 

 

Now to the important matter.   Did you catch any fish while waiting for the tow boat?

[Traveler2586]

Sorry to hear that and glad you're ok. Do you have BoatUS as your regular insurance carrier as well? Are they going to take care of the claim?

 

No, I'm sorry to say.  I'm currently with AARP for my home, cars, & boat.  I just this past week received a quote for BoatUS for my boat, but they were more than AARP.  I'll have to see how AARP handles this.

[Traveler2586]

Ouch!  That's some serious damage.  That will certainly go beyond the deductible to get it repaired.

 

Glad you came through it unscathed, and kept a cool head. 

 

Now to the important matter.   Did you catch any fish while waiting for the tow boat?

No, not a bite, and it's a good fishing area with some nice SAV; but the water in this area was gin clear and all I saw was some bait fish cruising on top of the SAV.  At one point I did kick back and enjoy a nice cold Orange, the rocking of the boat in the wind, and a beautiful day.

[Traveler2586]

Here is a Google Earth image of what I think I hit.  What are the chances of hitting this in the Potomac?????

 

 

[00 mod]

Dang man. Glad you are ok though. Boats and parts are replaceable.

Jeff

[topwaterrob]

Wow, that's awful man....  Glad youre ok....  Being from Fla, what is it that you hit that tore the skeg off?  Shoal is like rock or what?

[Jig Man]

Wow that was some hit.  I know how you feel as I have been down that same rocky road.  When you have it repaired talk to the tech about internal damage that may have occurred like prop shaft, gears etc.  One of my buds had to replace the entire lower unit not just the housing.

[tate]

Sorry to hear about the damage .... That really su.....s! Fortunately no one got hurt and BoatUS did their job well! Hopefully insurance takes some of the pain and gets you back on the water soon.

[Dwight Hottle]

Your insurance should handle your damage as it is considered a collision. I asked my insurance company about hitting underwater reefs before I signed up with them & they assured me that it would be considered as collision damage & covered under the policy.  Good luck getting it repaired & back on the water.

[Traveler2586]

Wow that was some hit.  I know how you feel as I have been down that same rocky road.  When you have it repaired talk to the tech about internal damage that may have occurred like prop shaft, gears etc.  One of my buds had to replace the entire lower unit not just the housing.

 

I've talked with the shop and we're looking at a new lower unit as the prop shaft is bent and doesn't spin smoothly; and there is no reverse gear.  They will also inspect the rest of the engine mounting and transom for secondary damage. Yesterday I found scratches on the underside of the hull.

[Traveler2586]

Wow, that's awful man....  Glad youre ok....  Being from Fla, what is it that you hit that tore the skeg off?  Shoal is like rock or what?

 

From the Google Earth photo above, it looks like a rock to me.

[slonezp]

I've talked with the shop and we're looking at a new lower unit as the prop shaft is bent and doesn't spin smoothly; and there is no reverse gear.  They will also inspect the rest of the engine mounting and transom for secondary damage. Yesterday I found scratches on the underside of the hull.

Hopefully they are just that and not stress cracks.

[BassnChris]

Dawg Gone!

Sorry to hear about your bad encounter.

That is one of worst worries........the lake I fish has a lot of underwater stumps and rocks (boulders).

Glad you were not injured.........and you're a better man than me. While I was in the Air Force........I would have cussed like a sailor!

[JROC]

I am glad your ok. Your ability to remain clam and not cuss is most astounding.

 

I too, tried BoatUS and found them to be MORE expensive then my current boaters ins (Progressive)

 

I called and asked for a qoute after the commercials I saw one day. I know there is a company called

SEATOW but I have not priced them yet. One time I towed a guy and it was painful but I if it were me I'd

want someone to help me too. So I over looked it and just towed them.

 

Let us know how things pan out.

[JROC]

Glad you had and anchor I know most guys dont carry one but I always have one with me in my boat..

[dcfdpipeman]

BrianMD forwarded the story to a few of us.  I am not familar with this rock/shoal but I did update Navionics with this potential rock pile.   Hope your back up soon.  If anyone can confirm the waypoint, I'd be glad to update Navionic Maps - Community Layer.

[Traveler2586]

BrianMD forwarded the story to a few of us.  I am not familar with this rock/shoal but I did update Navionics with this potential rock pile.   Hope your back up soon.  If anyone can confirm the waypoint, I'd be glad to update Navionic Maps - Community Layer.

 

The shoal is shown on Navionics Navplanner 2 as "Shoal to 3 FT REP 1975". I believe I found it on the Google Earth photo, but I have not been able to verify it yet but plan to when I get the boat back. The GE photo could also just be a "photo aberration", I don't know.

[Traveler2586]

Glad you had and anchor I know most guys don't carry one but I always have one with me in my boat..

 

I wouldn't be caught without a good anchor and 100' of line, no tellin' where you could end up if your TM & engine failed like it did on me.

 

I still can't figure out what Deity I PO'ed to have both motors fail at the same time.

[dcfdpipeman]

The shoal is shown on Navionics Navplanner 2 as "Shoal to 3 FT REP 1975". I believe I found it on the Google Earth photo, but I have not been able to verify it yet but plan to when I get the boat back. The GE photo could also just be a "photo aberration", I don't know.

 

Yes, I see that marker on the Nav maps.  I figured I would add yours until ruled out and since you struck something not on the orig marker.

[jhoffman]

One thing to remember is that geo spatial points change over time. The world doesnt just rotate in a circle. If that data was from 1975 id expect the accuracy to be quite off, surprised they even noted it. Not only that, there is a varience in how far off your map is at anytime based on the satellites its connected too. Could be as much as 20ft+

Glad youre ok

[Traveler2586]

One thing to remember is that geo spatial points change over time. The world doesnt just rotate in a circle. If that data was from 1975 id expect the accuracy to be quite off, surprised they even noted it. Not only that, there is a varience in how far off your map is at anytime based on the satellites its connected too. Could be as much as 20ft+

Glad youre ok

 

In 1975 I believe someone used dead-reckoning and a map to come up with coordinates, I doubt anyone had GPS back then.

 

If I, or someone else, can locate the shoal and get a good solid GPS fix, then that info should go to Navionics as a location update.  I would also like to verify the Google Earth photo.

[fadetoblack21]

Boat. . . . Bust Out Another Thousand. . . I learned this real quick after my first boat purchase. 

 

Sucks that this happened, but you kept a cool head and all will be well.

 

We ran into a shallow spot a few years ago and sheared the skeg off but didn't damage the gear housing so we were lucky. I can't say I would be as calm as you were if I destroyed my lower. . . . 

[Traveler2586]

Well here it is August 16th and still no boat 

When I hit a submerged rock on the Potomac and damaged the lower unit of my boats motor; and despite the two hour drive to above Frederick MD when I have a good shop fifteen minutes away; I decided to take my boat to the area’s leading Ranger dealer to have things checked out and taken care of.

 

Imagine my disappointment at the total lack of communications from the shop over the three weeks they’ve had the boat so far.  Not one call informing me as to the status of the work, or the estimates on the lower unit, and work I requested on the trolling motor.   I did get the estimate on the lower unit through my insurance company, kind of back door.

 

My calls to the shop have been met with guesses when I asked for an estimate on the trolling motor,, “oh, not much”.

 

Communications from this shop have been very disappointing.  I can only hope the work will be more professional with all OEM parts and they check out the hull as requested.